Updates from Ladbrokes, Lamprell and IS Solutions

Greek negotiation nervousness contributed to a 54-point drop for the FTSE 100 on Friday, ending at 6,753.7. ARMHoldings sank more than 5% to 1090p while AngloAmerican was down more than 3.5% to 959p. Rather better news for UK supermarkets Tesco and Sainsbury's, up 2.7% and 0.7% respectively (to 223.65p and 276.30p). Morrisons shares also crept higher.

Across the water the Dow was rather more resilient, up 56.3 points to 17,946.6 helped by a 4% surge for Nike following strong quarter numbers though the Dow was down almost 70 points on the week. However Greek concern saw Japan's Nikkei dip more than 1.8% earlier today.

Negotiations between Ladbrokes and Coral for a mega-merger - which could give the new operator a 45% share of the UK market - continue. Meanwhile a Ladbrokes business review presentation scheduled for Tuesday has been deferred until further notice.

Ladbrokes chief exec Jim Mullen this morning again warned shareholders that discussions between Ladbrokes and Gala Coral may - or may not - lead to a merger. A deal could take several months to engineer.

Ex HBOS chief exec Andy Hornby could be set for a substantial pay-out if a merger goes ahead. Hornby is chief exec at Coral Retail and likely to have a management stake in a merged business.

Next, oil and & gas engineering player Lamprell says it's on track to deliver 2015 results in-line with guidance. The Group has continued to see strong operational and financial performance, it claims, with the delivery of three major projects during the first half of the year.

Lamprell says it has seen some customers "delaying some project sanctions for discretionary capital spend" but Lamprell's bidding pipeline remains strong, it claims, amid challenging market conditions.

"We will continue," says boss James Moffatt, "to focus on maintaining our competitive position in the sector and remain confident of our ability to win our share of new projects."

Lastly, IS Solutions claims a solid finish to the financial reporting period, with strong demand from its Analytics sector resulting in the underlying performance being in line with market expectations it says.

Revenues climb 31% to £12.84m while gross profits up 12% to £4.67m. Revenues of £0.54m came from the company's Celebrus post-acquisition (recurring revenues contributed 55% to gross profits).

"The integration of the two businesses," says Barrie Clark, IS Solutions chairman, "is ongoing and on track and has also opened up a number of cross-selling opportunities for us."

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